With his presidency nearing its end, The New Yorker asks if Obama is serious about closing the prison in Guantanamo Bay:
Another, perhaps more troubling issue is that Obama hasn’t figured out what to do with forty-seven “forever prisoners,” men who have not been charged with any crime under the military commissions system, but whom the government deems too dangerous to release. Even if the Administration succeeds in moving them from Cuba to some other prison, there will be questions as to whether Obama has really “closed” Guantánamo so long as the U.S. continues to hold men for more than a decade without any formal charge, let alone a conviction.
The New Yorker: Is Obama Serious About Closing Guantánamo?, January 22, 2016
Now that Primary season has started - The Atlantic on the new Republican fault lines that defy the past, Brookings on what we can't learn from the Iowa caucuses, and the Washington Post on how much the Republican establishment hates... Ted Cruz.
Australia's dark history (and sometimes, present) as an all-white utopia.
A new data sharing agreement between the EU and the US has been announced.
Renewable energies are revolutionising electricity distribution in Africa.
A history of the container box.
Pop Culture:
The series adaptation of Neil Gaiman's American Gods (that has been talked about for years) has found its Shadow: Ricky Whittle from The 100. Great news.
Carol is not a cold movie.
The story behind The Little Mermaid's villain, Ursula.
The Guardian on how different cities shape music scenes, and Lithub on the literary scenes flourishing in the dark net.
I have recently discovered Nicola Griffith and highly recommend her novels (plus interviews here and here).
